Slavery’s End In Tennessee

203 Pages·1985·44.043 MB·English

by  John Cimprich

Slaverys End
in Tennessee,
1861-1865

Slaverys
End in
Tennessee,
1861-1865
John Cimprich
THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA PRESS
Copyright © 1985 by
The University ofAlabama Press
All rights reserved
Manufactured in the United States ofAmerica
Library ofCongress Cataloging in Publication Data
Cimprich, John, 1949-
Slavery'send inTennessee, 1861-1865.
Bibliography:p.
Includes index.
1. Tennessee-Hi story-Civil War, 1861-1865.
2. Slavery-T ennessee-Emancip ation. 3. Afro-Americans-
Tennessee-History-19th century. 4. Tennessee-Rac e
relations. I. Title.
E531.C56 1985 976.8'04'08996073 84-16200
ISBN 0-8173-0257-3
0-8173-1183-1[pbk:alk.paper)
Tomy parents

Contents
List of Figures and Tables viii
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction 3
1. The Institu tion and the Confedera tes 6
2. The Master and Slave Relationship after
Federal Occupation 19
3. Federal Occupation and the Slave Code 33
4. Black Ghettos and Contraband Camps 46
5. Beginning of Economic and Social
Reconstruction 60
6. Black Military Service 81
7. The Politics of Emancip ation 98
8. End of an Institution 118
Notes 132
Bibliographical Essay 181
Index 186
Figuresand Tables
Figures
l. Tennessee Counties in 1861 2
2. Key Towns and Railroads during the Civil War 2
3. Size of County Slave Populations in 1860 8
4. Proportion of Slaves in County Populations in
1860 9
Tables
l. Unbroken and Broken Unions ofSlaveCouples
from Three West Tennessee Counties 11
2. Average SlavePrices behind Confederate Lines
in Tennessee, 1861-1863 15
3. Available Numerical Data on Tennessee
Contrabands, 1865 31
4. Contraband Camp Populations, 1863-1865 53
5. Freedmen's Aid Societies in Tennessee,
1863-1865 54
6. Federal Casualties at Fort Pillow 94
7. Identifiable Black Political Leaders in
Tennessee, 1864-1865 111
8. Average Monthly Wages ofAdult Freedmen
Hired in Tennessee during 1865 126
Acknowledgments
Thisbook began asadissertation in 1974under the guidance of
Merton L. Dillon. He directed itwith admirable skill, dedica
tion, and patience through completion in 1977. During the
years since then, his generous advice and encouragement have
continued to aid my efforts. Other individuals whose critiques
significantly improved the final product were Michael Les
Benedict , Ira Berlin, Charles Eagles, Robert Ferris, Ralph
Haskins, Vickie Hucker, Lester Lamon, Harriet Simon, and
John Simon.
Research assistance wasprovided by Ken Heger, Sara Dun
lap Jackson, Madeleine McKivigan, Bob Mainfort, and Joe
Mannard. The work also greatly benefited from the services of
hardworking staffs at a number of libraries and repositories,
especially the National Archives, Ohio State University Li
brary, Southeast Missouri State University Library,Tennessee
State Library and Archives, and the University ofTennessee
Library. Jack McKivigan gavevaluable advice and encourage
ment throughout the years spent on this study.
Afellowship year, sponsored by the National Historical Pub
lications and Records Commission at the Andrew Johnson Pa
pers in 1979-80, stimulated fruitful rethinking ofparts ofthe
project. The Grants and Research Funding Committee , ofthe